America's Favorite Burger Was Trademarked In Denver In The 1930s (Allegedly)

When you think of Denver, Colorado, your mind might gravitate toward that city's famous omelet or even the divisive dish called Rocky Mountain oysters (just two of Colorado's famous foods). But did you know that the Mile High City claims to have invented (and possibly trademarked) the cheeseburger? A man named Louis E. Ballast, who owned the Humpty Dumpty Barrel Drive-In located at 2776 North Speer Boulevard, claimed to have invented the cheeseburger in 1935. Before hitting on his cheesy idea, Ballast tried some other toppings, including peanut butter and chocolate, which, not surprisingly, weren't as popular as cheese turned out to be.

Ballast went so far as to trademark the name, or so the story goes, but, like the history of the burger — which was steeped in legend even before it was topped with cheese — there is controversy on the matter. Some sources, including a granite marker erected near the site of the old restaurant by a local dairy trade group in 1987, claims that Ballast registered a trademark for the cheeseburger on March 5, 1935. A 1989 newspaper article from the News-Pilot alleged Ballast registered the name with Colorado's secretary of state. While some sources claim he received his trademark, Ballast's son, David, told The Denver Post in 2011 that his father never completed the process. Add to this that there are other claimants to the invention of the cheeseburger, and you've got yourself a gooey historical mess.

Historians seem to have nailed down who had the genius idea to put bacon on a cheeseburger (or at least the first to put it on the menu): Dale Mulder over at an A&W in Michigan in 1963. We can even pinpoint the origin of the double cheeseburger to Bob Wian of Bob's Big Boy back in 1937. But, when it comes to the original cheeseburger, the fight rages on. Although Louis Ballast may have attempted to trademark cheeseburgers back in 1935, there are two earlier cities that have strong cases for being the originators of this beloved burger style.

In 1934 — a year earlier than Ballast's claim — Kaelin's Restaurant in Louisville, Kentucky, put cheeseburgers on its menu. Like Denver's Humpty Dumpty Barrel, there's a marker that proclaims this. But wait! There's an even earlier potential birthdate of the cheeseburger. Back in 1924, in Pasadena, California, the aptly named teenager Lionel Sternberger was working at his father's diner, the Rite Spot, when he allegedly invented the cheeseburger by putting cheese on one side of a burger he'd overcooked. Another origin story has it that a customer simply requested cheese on their burger. Sternberger's creation was a hit and went on the menu. Yes, Pasadena also erected a plaque to memorialize the cheeseburger's invention. Still, Denver continues to stand by its claim as the sandwich's birthplace.